By-pass type spooler



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1964 T'zg. 1.

INVENTOR.

llllll ATTORNEYS C. B- CRANDALL BY-PASS TYPE SPOOLER March 8, 1966 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 2, 1964 ATTORNEYS March 8, 1966 C. a.CRANDALL BY-PASS TYPE SPOOLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 2, 1964 2INVENTOR.

C har/es B. Cranda/l Jar 0M A T TO RNE Y5 United States Patent 3,239,154BY-PASS TYPE SPOOLER Charles B. Crandall, Rockford, Ill., assignor toBarber- Colman Company, Rockford, 111., a corporation of Illinois FiledMar. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 348,452 8 Claims. (Cl. 24235.6)

This invention relates to a Barber-Colman type C spooler such as thatoriginally disclosed in Patent No. 1,267,977 in which a so-calledtraveler moves around an endless path past successive winding units ineach of which the cheese or cone on the free end of a rearwardlyprojecting arm is pressed down against a traversing drum during thewinding. Upon breaking or exhaustion of the supply thread, the arm isswung upwardly, overcenter and downwardly to a horizontal idle positionfrom which the traveler operates to find the thread end on the cheese,tie on the thread of a new supply bobbin and swing the cheese armupwardly and rearwardly back onto the traversing drum to resume thewinding.

Preparatory to such servicing, a cam on the traveler comes into play torelease the arm support so that the cheese will come into properengagement with the braking and end fining rolls of the traveler. Suchrelease mechanism includes spring means which, when a winding unit isoperating properly, performs the additional function of urging thecheese arm downwardly thus holding the cheese, regardless of its size,against the drum under proper pressure.

In the type C spooler, the speed of the traveler is slow enough toinsure that the thread of each winding unit will be broken or exhaustedas a result of which a unit whose thread is broken before exhaustion ofthe supply bobbin may remain idle for an objectionably large part of thetime.

The primary object of the present invention is to facilitate adaptationof a swinging arm type spooler of the above character for so-calledby-pass operation in which the speed of the traveler is increased andthe traveler operates only on the cheeses of idle winding units whilepassing idly by those units in which the supply thread is runningproperly to the cheese.

A more detailed object is to control selectively the action of thetraveler on each winding unit and prevent release of the downwardpressure on the cheese being wound while the traveler is passing awinding unit which is operating properly.

The invention also resides in the novel and simple character of thestructure used to sense the presence or absence of each cheese arm inwinding position and controlling the by-passing action.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary verticalsection taken approximately along the line 11 of FIG. 2 of a spoolerincorporating the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan view.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary sectional views taken along the lines 33and 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are sections similar to FIG. 3 showing differentpositions of the parts.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 8-8 of FIG. 2.

In the type C spooler, a multiplicity of winding units 10 are arrangedside by side along one side 11 of and within an endless path aroundwhich a so-called traveler or tender 12 moves and operates on idle onesof the units to resume winding thereby. Each unit is mounted on abracket 13 upstanding from a frame 14 and includes an elongated arm 15clamped at one end to a pivot shaft 16 which is journaled in bearings 17at the upper end of the bracket. A spindle 18 projects laterally fromthe opposite or free end of the aim and rotatably supports the core 20of a cheese or cone 21 onto which the thread 22 of a supply bobbin 23 iswound to form a package of the desired size. Such winding occurs whilethe supply thread remains unbroken with the cheese resting on the top ofa continuously rotating drum 24 carried by a shaft 25 paralleling thetraveler path. The drum is grooved to traverse the thread back and forthacross the cheese. In the winding position, the arm 15 projectsgenerally horizontally and rearwardly from the pivot 16 as shown in fullin FIG. 1.

When the thread being wound breaks or becomes exhausted, a pull wire 26suspended from a short projection 27 on the hub of the cheese arm isswung rearwardly and in beneath a hook 28 on the free end of an arm 29fast on a shaft 30 which is rocked up and down continuously within theU-shaped lower end 31 of the pull wire. As a result of the downwardpull, the cheese arm is swung upwardly from the winding position andovercenter past a vertical position from which the arm gravitates to theidle position shown in phantom in FIG. 1, the arm then projectingforwardly and generally horizontally from its pivot 16. In thismovement, a roller 32 on a lateral projection 33 of the cheese arm pivotshaft rides up the face of an upstanding arm 34 of a bell-crank lever 35fulcrumed at 36 on the bracket 13 and having a forwardly projecting armor lug 37 to which is attached one end of a con tractile spring 38. Theother end is attached to the horizontally projecting arm 40 of a latch41 pivoted on the frame at 41 and having an elongated upright arm whichis engageable at its upper end 42 in either of two notches 43 and 44 asshown in FIGS. 6 and 7. When the arm 42 is engaged with either of thetwo notches 43 or 44, it prevents the bell crank 41 from transmittingthe force of the spring 38 to the cheese arm and applying downwardpressure to the cheese as it is being restored to the drum until thecheese has been accelerated to the drum speed. Pressure is restored inthe type C spooler by a roller cam 73 (FIGS. 3 and 8) on the plate 53trailing behind the end finding roll 55 with its lower edge positionedto engage and depress the arm 46 thus rocking the bell-crank clockwiseto carry its upper end 42 away from the notches 43, 44.

When the cheese arm in rocking upwardly from its winding positionreaches the position shown in FIG. 5, the bell-crank 35 will have beenrocked counterclockwise far enough to allow the end 42 of the latch tomove into the notch 43. Then, as the cheese arm swings overcenter andgravitates downwardly, the end 49 of a lug 45 on the side of the pivot16 opposite the roller 32 comes against a shoulder 46 on the bell-crankand rocks the latter counterclockwise as permitted by extension of thespring 38. The latter thus cushions the stopping of the arm and thelatter comes to rest in the idle position shown in FIG. 6. When thecheese is substantially less than full size and therefore light inweight, the bell-crank is not rocked far enough counterclockwise toallow the latch end 42 to escape from the notch 43. The inertia of alarger or full cheese will, however, rock the bell-crank farther andallow the latch to enter the second notch 44 maintaining the spring 38in its extended position and preventing the release of its stored energyfrom causing the cheese to rebound upwardly. In the present instance,the cheese in its final idle position is supported by the latch throughthe engagement between the surfaces 46 and 49 on the bell-crank andcheese arm (see FIG. 6).

The traveler 12 for servicing each idle winding unit includes a frame 47supported from an overhead track 48 on upstanding frame arms 50 and isadvanced along the path 11 through a power rotated gear 51 meshing withrack teeth on the track. Arranged in succession on the traveler alongthe path of advance thereof are various devices for operating on thecheese, its supporting arm and the parts associated therewith includinga cam 52 on the leading end of an upright plate for raising the cheesearm from the position determined by the supporting surfaces 46 and 49and then depositing the cheese, regardless of its size, on a brakingroll 54 for arresting the turning of large size cheeses. Lowering of thecheese onto the braking roll 54 is timed by the inclined cam 52 whichrides under and picks up the idle cheese arm (see FIG. 7) and raises thecheese far enough to allow the largest size cheese shown in full in FIG.7 to pass over the top of the braking roll and be lowered onto thelatter as the trailing end 74 (FIG. 8) of the cam passes the cheese arm.With a large size cheese resting on the braking roll 54, the surfaces 46and 49 are separated. Thereafter, in the continued advance of thetraveler, the cheese is further lowered and engaged by an end findingroll 55 and its thread tied by a knotter 56 to a new supply thread afterwhich the cheese arm is swung upwardly and overcenter and back towinding position.

In the case of a small size cheese whose supporting latch 41 is disposedin the first notch 43 when the cheese reaches the idle position shown inphantom in FIG. 1, it is necessary to remove the support by the surfaces46 and 49 after the cheese arm 15 has been engaged and supported by thetraveler cam 52 allowing the cheese to be lowered properly onto thebraking roll so that it may be further lowered onto the end finding roll55, as shown in dotdash outline in FIG. 7 as this roll is presentedbeneath the cheese. In the type C spooler, this is accomplished by aroller 57 of substantial diameter mounted on the plate 53 of thetraveler in a position to engage the projection 37 at the proper timeand then, in the continued advance of the traveler, raise thisprojection to permit engagement of the latch end 42 in the second notch44 and leave the parts positioned as shown in FIG. 7 with the supportingsurfaces 46, 49 separated by an amount which permits the smallest cheeseto contact the end finding roll.

It will be observed from the foregoing that when the cheese arm 15 is inthe winding position (FIG. 3), the latch 41 is out of the notches 43 and44 with its end 42 held against the front side of the bellcrank by thespring 38 whose upper end exerts a downward pull on the projection 37.The bell-crank is thus biased clockwise with the arm 34 thereof bearingagainst the roller 32 to urge the cheese arm counterclockwise and pressthe cheese thereon downwardly against the winding drum. At the sametime, the projection 37 is disposed in the path of the roller cam 57 onthe traveler so that if this cam were allowed to raise the projection asit does in the servicing of an idle winding unit, the bell-crank wouldbe rocked counterclockwise and engaged by the latch in the notches 43and 44, thus preventing the spring from continuing to exert the desireddownward winding pressure to the cheese.

To permit the traveler to by-pass each active winding unit while leavingthe winding pressure applied to the cheese, the present inventionprovides for disabling the traveler cam 57 as it is passing theprojection 37 of such unit thus preventing the cam from raising theprojection and rocking the bell-crank counterclockwise far enough toallow the latch to move into the notches 43 and 44. Such disabling isaccomplished in the present instance by mounting the cam roller fordownward yielding when it engages and passes the projection 37 of awinding unit while positively holding the normal position of the rollerwhen it passes the projection of an idle winding unit whose cheese armis projecting forwardly.

To these ends, the roller is disposed adjacent the rear side of theplate 53 on the traveler and is journaled on one end of a stud 58 whichprojects through a vertically extending slot 60 in the plate and isfixed at its other end in the free end of a bar 61. The latter liesalong the outer side of the plate and is supported near its other end bya pivot 62 secured to the plate, the bar projecting horizontally fromthe pivot in a direction opposite to the traveler advance. Beyond thepivot, a contractile spring 63 acts continuously on the bar to swing itclockwise as viewed in FIG. 4 thus normally maintaining the stud 58 atthe upper end of the slot 60 as shown in FIGS. 1, 4 and 8 and the rollerpositioned for normal engagement with the next projection 37 along therow of winding units. In this condition, the roller and the bar areadapted to yield downwardly as permitted by extension of the spring, theroller being pressed downwardly as it comes into contact with theprojection and passing idly beneath the latter in the continued advanceof the traveler.

The presence of a cheese arm in idle position and the need for holdingthe roller 37 against such downward yielding is sensed by a feeler inthe form of a rectangular plate 64 (FIGS. 2 and 3) disposed adjacent andbeyond the trailing end of the braking roll 54 so as to be engaged anddepressed by the cheese just before the cam roller 57 reaches theassociated projection 37. The feeler plate is wide enough in thedirection of the traveler mo tion to remain in engagement with thecheese until the roller has passed out of effective contact with theprojection. Herein, the feeler is on the free end of a lever 65extending transversely of the traveler path and fast at its opposite endon a rockshaft 66 journaled in bearings 67 on the front of the travelerplate. A torsion spring 68 around the shaft urges the feeler upwardly toa normal position (see FIG. 1) slightly above the level of the brakingroll 54 as determined by engagement of an arm 70 depending from therockshaft with a stop 70 on the plate 53. The leading edge 71 of thefeeler plate is beveled to guide the plate in beneath the cheese whoseweight is always sufficient to depress the feeler to the position shownin phantom in FIG. 4.

Projecting laterally from the lower end of the arm 70 is a stop 72disposed slightly below the lower edge of the lever 61. In the normalposition of the feeler, the stop is swung out from under the bar asshown in full in FIG. 3 thus freeing the bar and the cam roller 57 fordownward movement when the roller encounters the projection 37 of anidle winding unit. But when the feeler is depressed as it passes beneathan idle cheese as shown in FIG. 8, the stop 72 is swung in beneath thebar 61 as shown in phantom in FIG. 3 thus blocking the bar againstdownward movement so that the roller is held positively in its upperactive position as it passes the projection 37 of the winding unit. Theprojection is thus raised by the cam 57 to allow the latch 41 to moveinto the second notch 44 and remove the support for the cheese arm 15 sothat, regardless of the size of the cheese, it is free to movedownwardly into proper contact with the end finding roll in the furtheradvance of the traveler.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a by-pass type spooler of the character described, the combinationof, a winding unit including a grooved winding drum rotatable about ahorizontal axis, an arm supporting a rotatable cheese at one end, meansat the opposite end providing a pivot parallelling the drum axis andsupporting the cheese arm for swinging back and forth in an uprightplane between a winding position against said drum and an idle generallyhorizontal position on the opposite side of the pivot, means acting onsaid arm and yieldably urging the latter in a direction to hold saidcheese against said drum under a winding pressure including a memberdisposed in a predetermined position when said arm is in said windingposition and adapted when moved to a second position to release thepressure on the arm, a traveler movable transversely of said plane andoperable in passing the winding unit to service the cheese thereofdisposed in said idle position, and mechanism on the travelerselectively operable to maintain said member in said predeterminedposition as the traveler passes the winding unit with the cheese armthereof in said winding position and to move the member to said secondposition when the cheese arm is in said idle position as the travelerpasses.

2. A by-pass type spooler as defined in claim 1 in which the selectiveaction of said mechanism is controlled by a feeler mounted on saidtraveler for up and down movement and disposed in a position to rideunder the cheese of said winding unit during passage of the travelerwhile said cheese arm is in said idle position.

3. A by-pass type spooler as defined in claim 1 in which said mechanismincludes an element carried by said traveler and held in an activeposition for effective engagement with said member and movement thereofto said second position while said cheese arm is in idle position duringpassage of the traveler but free for movement by said member out of suchactive position as the traveler passes the winding unit with the cheesearm thereof in said winding position.

4. A by-pass type spooler as defined in claim 3 including meansyieldably urging said element toward and normally maintaining the samein said active position, and means operable as the traveler passes thewinding unit with said cheese arm in said idle position to block saidelement against yielding whereby to cause the same to move said memberto said second position.

5. A by-pass type spooler as defined in claim 4 in which said element isa cam and said member is a follower therefor.

6. A by-pass spooler as defined in claim 5 in which said blocking meanscomprises a stop movable into and out of the path of yielding of saidelement.

7. In a by-pass type spooler of the character described, the combinationof, a winding unit including a grooved winding drum rotatable about ahorizontal axis, an arm supporting a rotatable cheese at One end, meansat the opposite end'providing a pivot paralleling the drum axis andsupporting the cheese arm for swinging back and forth in an uprightplane between a winding position against said drum and an idle generallyhorizontal position on the opposite side of the pivot, means releasablysupporting said cheese arm in the idle position including a memberadapted when moved out of a normal position to permit lowering of thesupport from said arm and the idle cheese thereon, a traveler movabletransversely of said plane and past said winding unit and operable onthe idle and unsupported cheese to find the thread thereon, tie on a newthread and return the arm and cheese to the winding position, an elementon said traveler operable in the advance thereof past the winding unitto effectively engage said member and move the same out of said normalposition, and sensing means operable during advance of the traveler tothe winding unit to prevent elTective engagement of said element andsaid member when the cheese arm is in said Winding position whilecausing effective engagement of said element and said member when thecheese arm is in the idle position.

8. In a by-pass type spooler of the character described, the combinationof, a winding unit including a grooved winding drum rotatable about ahorizontal axis, an arm supporting a rotatable cheese at one end, meansat the opposite end providing a pivot paralleling the drum axis andsupporting the cheese for swinging back and forth in an upright planebetween a winding position against said drum and an idle generallyhorizontal position on the opposite side of said pivot, means acting onsaid arm and yieldably urging the same in a direction to hold saidcheese against said drum under a winding pressure including a memberdisposed in a predetermined position when said arm is in said windingposition and adapted when moved to a second position to release thepressure on the arm, a traveler movable transversely of said plane andoperable in passing the winding unit to service the cheese thereof whenthe latter is disposed in said idle position, and element on saidtraveler yieldably urged to a normal position and operable during theadvance of the traveler when held in such position to engage and actuatesaid member and thereby release said winding pressure, and a feelermounted on the traveler for engagement with the cheese of said unit insaid idle position and operable to hold said element in said normalposition while element is passing said member, said feeler acting, whenthe arm of said unit is in said winding position, to free said elementfor yielding out of said normal position and thereby prevent the passingtraveler from actuating said member to release the winding pressure onsaid cheese.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,175,710 3/1916Colman 24235.6 1,267,977 5/1918 Colman 242-35.6 1,268,684 6/1918 Colman242-35.6 2,757,874 8/1956 Marcellus 242-356 3,042,328 7/1962 Mahoney24235.6

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A BY-PASS TYPE SPOOLER OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, THE COMBINATIONOF, A WINDING UNIT INCLUDING A GROOVED WINDING DRUM ROTATABLE ABOUT AHORIZONTAL AXIS, AN ARM SUPPORTING A ROTATABLE CHEESE AT ONE END, MEANSAT THE OPPOSITE END PROVIDING A PIVOT PARALLELING THE DRUM AXIS ANDSUPPORTING THE CHEESE ARM FOR SWINGING BACK AND FORTH IN AN UPRIGHTPLANE BETWEEN A WINDING POSITION AGAINST SAID DRUM AND AN IDLE GENERALLYHORIZONTAL POSITION ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE PIVOT, MEANS ACTING ONSAID ARM AND YIELDABLY URGING THE LATTER IN A DIRECTION TO HOLD SAIDCHEESE AGAINST SAID DRUM UNDER A WINDING PRESSURE INCLUDING A MEMBERDISPOSED ON A PREDETERMINED POSITION WHEN SAID ARM IS IN SAID WINDINGPOSITION AND ADAPTED WHEN MOVED TO A SECOND POSITION TO RELEASE THEPRESSURE ON THE ARM, A TRAVELER MOVABLE TRANSVERSELY OF